Mode of cutting the uppers op boots



JNO. S. LEVIS,

or ATHoL,

AT @FFTQE'J MASSACHUSETTS.

MODE' OF CUTTING THE UPPERS 0F BOOTS.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 13,852, dated November 27, 1855.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN S. LEWIS, of Athol, in the county of Wvorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the IVIode Of Cutn ting the Uppers of Boots; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l, exhibits in blaclioutline, tinted, the form into which the stock is cut according to my invention for the fronts of boots, and also exhibits in red outline the common form of boot front, showing the saving eifected by my plan. Fig. 2, exhibits in black outline a side view of a boot front cut on my plan, after it has been crimped, and in red outline its difference from one cut on the old plan, in the same state. Fig. 3, is a side view of a complete boot upper made on my plan.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts wherever they occur in the several iigures.

My invention relates to the mode of cutting the fronts the principal advantage of which is the saving of stock. This mode consists of cutting the front all the way down no wider or very little wider than the usual width of the part which is to form the front of the leg omitting the piece which is commonly left on each side of the front to meet the lower part of the back or heel seat. The vacancy which this leaves after the front has been crimped and the back fitted to it may be filled in various ways.

By reference to the red outlines in Fig. l, it will be understood that by cutting the backs in the common way a piece of leather of the width included between the lines a, a, and of the whole length of the boot front will be consumed for every front to form the projecting corners f, f, in excess of the quantity consumed in cutting the fronts to the form indicated by A, A, in black outline, which is the form of the front-s cut on my plan. This wastes fully one fourth of the best stock as it only allows three fronts to be obtained from a piece of leather from which by my plan four may be obtained.

By reference to the black outline Fig. 2, it will be seen that when a frontV A, is folded and crimped there is a triangular vacancy b, representing a piece wanting to complete the common form of the front. The methods of filling this vacancy are various. I consider the best method to be to cut a counter piece C, to cover the heel seat of the back B, which would be cut of the common form, and to extend the said counter piece forward in the proper form to cover or fill the vacancy b, and this is represented at g, in Fig. 3. In this case the outside counter piece C, serves as stiffening. Another method is to it in a piece or gusset of leather india rubber cloth or other material to fill this vacancy serving the same to the heel seat or lower part of the back cut in the common way, and to the oblique line c,

forming part of the lower edge of the front. Another method is to cut the back with an extra piece on each side of the lower part of proper form to fill the said Vacancy, but this latter method will cause some waste in cutting the backs, though this waste is much less than what is made in the old plan of cutting the fronts, as the fronts are almost invariably cut from stock of much better quality than the backs.

It should be observed in crimping the front cut on my plan, that it should be drawn the tightest at the two ends of the oblique line. In crimping the common front it is always drawn the tightest. about midway between these points or in a dotted line from the point el, to the nick c, which shortens the front about one inch more than my plan. As a medium front is about seven inches wide, about seven square inches of leather is saved in this way by my plan, in addition to what is saved in the manner before described. In cutting out the fronts I should never cut them wider in any part than is necessary to form the front of the leg, as in that way is the greatest economy, but I do not wish to confine myself strictly to this width as by cutting them somewhat wider at the part where the old front has the corners f, produced, a saving of stock may still be e 'eeted by a separate piece,l by extending the back 10 or counter, 0r by a piece produced in any other Way whereby the saving is effected in cutting the fronts substantially as herein described.

JOHN S. LEVIS. /Vitnesses:

CALVIN KELTON, ELLEN M. KELT0N 

